Many approaches to robots that resemble animals with skeletons are being actively developed: the “Big Dog” is an example. Most of these robots are constructed using so-called “hard” body plans; that is, a rigid (usually metal) skeleton, electrical or hydraulic actuation, electromechanical control, sensing, and feedback. The hard robots are very successful at the tasks for which they were designed. For example, hard robots are useful in heavy manufacturing in controlled environments. However, these hard robots cannot operate well when faced with certain demanding tasks for which the hard robots were not designed. For example, in demanding terrains with rocks and dips, hard robots with tracks and wheels cannot travel safely.
Some of the challenges faced by the hard robots can be addressed by a second class of robot: those based on animals without skeletons. The second class of robots is much less explored, for a number of reasons: i) there is a supposition that “marine-like” organisms e.g., (squid) will not operate without the buoyant support of water; ii) the materials and components necessary to make these systems are not available; iii) the major types of actuation used in them (for example, hydrostats) are virtually unused in conventional robotics. These systems are intrinsically very different in their capabilities and potential uses than hard-bodied systems. While they will (at least early in their development) be slower than hard-bodied systems, they will also be more stable and better able to move through constrained spaces (cracks, rubble), lighter, and less expensive.
Robots, or robotic actuators, which can be described as “soft” are most easily classified by the materials used in their manufacture and their methods of actuation. For example, a soft robotic system can use soft materials, such as soft elastomer, or flexible materials, such as papers, a nylon fabrics, and a nitrile, to build its structures, as disclosed in International Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/061720, titled “Soft robotic actuators,” by Ilievski et al., International Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/059226, titled “Systems and methods for actuator soft robotic actuators” by Shepherd et al., and International Patent Application No. PCT/US2013/022593, titled “Flexible robotic actuators” by Mazzeo et al., each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Unfortunately, the process for building a soft robot is both challenging and time-consuming. Furthermore, the process is often tailored to a particular design envisioned in the early phase of the development, and is hard to modify at a later stage. Therefore, there is a need in the art to develop an easy and versatile technique for building soft robots.